Remember Our Promise?
by WildFlower084
Summary: Booth and Bones meet up with Booth's mother at Wong Foo's. She might be a bit weird but she has an excellent memory. A memory that reminds them that our favorite pair have met before in the past. [Trust me, it's better than it sounds!]
1. Mom's Impressive Memory

**A/N: Well I'm back for probably the last time before Season 2 starts. This story was meant to be a oneshot but I noticed, halfway through writing it, that it was going to be a long story. Hope you like it. It's pretty different from the stuff I wrote in the past. I've had this idea for a couple of months now butI just never thought of actually putting it into words. Tell me what you think on your way out.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothin' except for the crazy woman in the story (you'll know what I mean, see author's note at the end of the chapter formore comments).**

**By the way, sorry for the crappy summary.**

* * *

"Working late again, Dr. Brennan?" A booming voice said behind her. 

Temperance turned around to see her boss, Dr. Goodman, standing at her office's door. She nodded briefly before returning to her computer. She had a novel to write.

"Writer's block, I see?" The archeologist said as he peeked over his employee's shoulder to the blank screen.

"Yeah." Temperance replied, sighing quietly. "I've been trying to write this chapter for two weeks but..."

She stopped abruptly in mid-sentence. Why was she telling her boss about her writer's block?

Goodman seemed to have read her mind for he chuckled.

"I'll let you get back to work." He said.

"Thank you."

He had been able to walk out the door when he stopped in his tracks.

"May I suggest you go home and rest? Or perhaps go out? It would take your mind off your novel and your work."

"No thanks. I'm okay here." Temperance replied.

"Well that's fine by me but I don't think your answer would satisfy your partner. You better find another reason to give him."

When she looked at her boss questioningly, he only chuckled once more.

"Agent Booth is walking towards your office and his pace is pretty fast."

He chuckled at the doctor's stricken expression before walking out of the office and greeting Booth on his way passed him. The agent greeted him back.

Temperance waited patiently for her partner to walk in, pretty sure about what was going to happen the second he'd set foot in the room. He'd most likely try to convince her to go to Wong Foo's with him, just like he had been doing for the past few weeks. She usually won the argument, stating that she was too tired to do anything and promising to head straight home if he just left. He usually did leave. But tonight, Temperance had a feeling things were going to be different.

* * *

The door chimed as the partners stepped into the slightly crowded restaurant. 

"Booth, remind me why we're here?" Temperance asked as she let her partner lead her by the hand to their usual seats.

"To take your mind off work." Booth replied, sighing loudly. "And don't tell me you don't need to take your mind off your work because you do."

"How do you know?"

Booth glared at her.

"Don't give me your smart ass attitude, Bones." He warned before letting go of her hand.

He sat down on his stool and waited for Bones to do the same. When she had sat down, he turned to the bartender.

"Just give us the usual." He said to his old friend.

Sid nodded briefly before disappearing in his kitchen. Booth turned to his partner.

"That's what's great about this place, Bones. You don't have to look for hours at a menu to figure out what you're going to eat."

He flashed her his charm smile, the one that had helped him win the argument tonight. Temperance rolled her eyes, fighting the chuckle that threatened to reveal her amusement.

"No plans for tonight?" Temperance asked, breaking the silence that had immediately followed Booth's remark.

"I'm sorry?" Booth replied, turning around.

"I just asked you if you had any plans for tonight."

"Well yeah. Eating dinner with you."

"That's all?"

"Actually, no. I'm meeting someone."

"Oh?" Temperance replied, hoping that Booth hadn't heard the disappointment in her tone.

She just couldn't understand why he had brought her here if it was only to ditch her when what she assume was his date would get here.

"Yeah. I just didn't think..."

But Booth was cut off in mid-sentence by the sound of his name. He looked up to see a woman entering the restaurant.

"Seeley!" The woman cried as she walked determinedely to the agent.

Booth shot his partner an apologetic smile before getting up to greet the woman.

"Mom!" he said, sounding falsely cheerful. "I didn't think you would come."

"Mom?" He heard his partner mumble beside him.

He elbowed her subtly.

"And why would you think that, Seeley?" His mother told him. "I would never pass up an opportunity to see my son. Where is my grandchild?"

"Umm..." Booth replied, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Parker isn't here, Mom. I couldn't get Rebecca to drive him over."

Glancing quickly at Temperance, he turned his attention back to his mother.

"Oh. Oh well." His mother replied.

"Uh Mom, do you want to sit down?" Booth asked, pointing at his seat.

"Of course I... SEELEY! Who is _that_?"

Her eyes had fallen on the anthropologist sitting beside her. Temperance quickly glanced at the woman before turning to her partner. Booth gave her another apologetic smile.

"Is she your new girlfriend? Because if she is, I have to say, she seems so much better than..."

"Mom, Temperance isn't my girlfriend." Booth immediately cut in, before his mother divulged anything more embarrassing. "We work together. Temperance is my partner."

"FBI?"

Temperance shook her head.

"No, actually, I work as a forensic anthropologist at the Jeffersonian Institute."

Booth's mother frowned and Temperance immediately felt the need to clarify her explaination, but not without a twinge of annoyance.

"I work with dead people."

"Like a pathologist?"

"Not quite. A pathologist works with corpses. I work with people's remains, when all the skin is gone and all is left are the bones."

"Huh." Booth's mother replied, not quite sure what else to say. "That's... nice."

Temperance forced a smile before looking up at Booth.

"I think I better get going." She told him.

She stood up and was about to walk away when Booth grabbed her arm.

"Please stay. You haven't even eaten yet."

Temperance sighed before sitting back down on her stool. She was rewarded by his charm smile once again.

"Don't use your charm smile on me." She warned.

Booth chuckled.

"So you two are not dating?"

The partners turned to look at the woman sitting beside them.

"No, _Mom_." Booth replied, blushing slightly. "We just work together."

"Right." She replied, on a tone that told the two friends she wasn't buying it. "You know, Seeley, she almost looks like that Temperance girl we met back in Chicago."

Booth and Temperance exchanged looks. Booth turned back to his mother.

"What are you talking about?" Booth asked, confused.

"Remember when you were six, we went to visit your aunt Muriel in Chicago and you met this adorable yet weird little girl named Temperance Brennan. You were very fond of her and I think the feeling was mutual. You two spent the entire summer together. Don't you remember, Seeley?"

"What did you say that little girl's name was?"

"Temperance Brennan. You know, Matt and Christine Brennan's daughter. Remember, she had an older brother called Ross."

"Russ." Booth and Temperance immediately corrected.

"That's what I said. Ross."

Temperance and Booth smiled at each other, fighting the urge to laugh. Booth's mother continued talking, ignoring her son's previous statement.

"Don't tell me you don't remember the Brennans, Seeley. They were lovely people and your aunt's neighbors. What? Why are you guys looking at me that way?"

Temperance looked up at her partner as the memories came flooding back to her and she could see that hewas just as shocked as she was. They had met before, almost twenty-five years ago. She could tell, by the look in his eyes, that he remembered too. Her heart raced in her chest as she remembered the promise they had made on the last day of summer.

* * *

**A/N2: Okay sorry about Booth's mother. It's just that from the way Booth was talking about her in the season finale and the fact that she wrote jingles as her job, I just pictured her as a somewhat eccentric woman.**


	2. Summer of 1980

**A/N: WOW! And I mean WOW! I have NEVER had so many reviews for a first chapter. I was really happy even though it gave me a lot of pressure to write a chapter that would measure up to your high expectations. Hopefully I've reached them with this chapter.**

_

* * *

July 6th 1980; Chicago, Illinois_

Laughter reached Seeley's ears from the guest room's open window. The child immediately jumped up and ran to look outside. His hopes were rewarded when the child set eyes on a cute little girl and a bigger boy running around. His mouth immediately broke into a grin. Turning around, he casted one last look at the children next door before sprinting out of the room and down the stairs.

A voice stopped him just as he was reaching the door.

"Where are you going, Seeley?" A sweet yet slightly annoying voice asked him.

He turned to see his aunt standing outside the kitchen, looking at him quizzically.

"Oh umm..." He stuttered for an answer. "I just saw two kids next door. I thought I'd go play with them."

"Oh. Aren't you having fun with us?"

His aunt's tone made Seeley feel guilty. After all, he hadn't seen his Aunt Muriel in a long time and should have been spending more time with her. The guilt was only short ridden. Happiness to finally have someone other than his brother to play with overcame the battle.

Without bothering to answer his aunt's question, Booth opened the door and ran outside.

He fell into a walk as he reached the neighbor's fence. Slowly, he made his way to the backyard, where the little girl's shrieks could still be heard. He stopped when he caught sight of the siblings wrestling and watched in mild amusement.

Seeley's heart almost stopped beating when the older boy looked up.

"Who are you?" He asked, standing up and wiping the dirt from his pants.

Seeley felt slightly intimitated.

"I'm Seeley. I'm visiting my aunt for the summer." Seeley replied, pointing to his aunt's beige house.

"Oh yeah." The little girl replied. "I saw you arrive last week. I'm Temperance, by the way. But people call me Tempe. This is my brother, Russ. He's 8. I'm 4."

"Hi."

The three children stood silently, staring at each other.

"So?" Seeley finally asked after a few seconds of silence. "What were you guys playing?"

"Marco Polo!" Russ replied.

Temperance beamed beside him.

"Don't you have to be in a pool to play that game?"

"No." Temperance answered, offended. "You don't _have_ to play that game in a pool. Look, we'll show you. Close your eyes."

Seeley shook his head.

"I'm not closing my eyes."

Little Tempe rolled her eyes.

"Fine." Temperance replied, letting out an overexagerated sigh. "Be that way. Russ, you close your eyes."

"Don't be bossy or I'm telling Mom."

She rolled her eyes once more.

"Fine. Tell Mommy."

"MOM! Tempe is giving me orders again!" Russ called out as he ran towards the house.

Seeley and Temperance giggled.

* * *

_July 15th 1980, North Park Village Nature Center_

"_Pleeeease _Mommy. Can't we just go explore for five minutes?" Temperance begged her mother for the hundredth time since they had arrived at the park.

"I said no, Temperance. Now sit down and eat your lunch." Christine Brennan replied.

"I'm not hungry." Tempe retorted, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Temperance, stop pouting." Matt warned.

"No." Temperance replied, defiantly.

She heard her parents sigh and knew she had won the argument once again. She immediately got up, knowing what her parents were going to say next.

"Five minutes. No more, no less." Christine said. "And take Russ with you."

"But Moooom!" Russ whined. "I don't wanna go with her. Exploring is so boring."

"I'll go." Seeley immediately volunteered.

Christine turned to the little boy they had brought with them to the park. She smiled at him.

"Thank you, Seeley."

Then, turning to her daughter:

"Now off you go. I'm starting to count right now."

Temperance immediately took off as her mother started counting. She heard Seeley behind her shouting to her to wait up but she didn't care. She was free. She was free to explore. And even though her exploration would only last five minutes, it didn't matter. She was _free_!

She ran to the edge of the forest and stepped into it without a second thought. She loved nature; the trees, the birds, the animals, the quietness. She just loved everything about it.

A cracking branch behind her told her that Seeley had caught up with her.

"It's about time." She scolded, not bothering to slow down.

"Well maybe if you would have waited for me, I would have caught up with you faster."

Tempe had been about to reply when something on the ground caught her attention. She stopped abruptly in her path and turned her gaze in the object's direction. Letting out a loud squeal, she ran down the path towards it.

"What's that?" Seeley asked, looking down at the white objects on the ground.

"Bones." Temperance replied, excitedly. "Animal bones, probably."

Crouching down, she poked the remains with her finger.

"Eew, Tempe. Cut it out. It's gross."

"No it's not. It's fun. Come on, you try."

"No." Seeley replied, taking a few steps back.

Temperance, annoyed, decided to ignore him and went back to her examination. Picking up the bone, she turned it around to examine the other side.

"I wonder what kind of animal it used to be." She said, much to herself than to her friend.

Seeley whimpered as the sun disappeared behind a cloud and sent the whole forest into a light darkness. The boy shivered.

"Tempe, I'm scared. Let's go back."

But Temperance wasn't listening. She was too engrossed in her examination of the bones to listen. She watched in amazement how the bone curved in the shape of a U. She set it down and picked up another bone. This one was much smaller but thicker. Ants ran around the inside but Temperance wasn't scared or grossed out.

"Temperance! Seeley! Your five minutes are up! It's time to go!"

The sound of her mother's voice brought the child back to reality. She set down the bone, got up and dusted her pants. She looked up to see her friend staring at her. She smiled wickedly.

"The last one out of the forest is a rotten egg." She said before sprinting in her mother's direction.

The poor boy never stood a chance.

* * *

_July 15th 1980, 8:30 p.m.; Brennan residence_

"You seem to like Seeley." Christine said as she pulled the blanket over her daughter.

"Yeah, he's okay." Tempe replied, evasively.

Never would she admit to liking Seeley. He was too... weird and completely annoying.

"Just okay?" Christine asked, her eyebrow shot in the air.

"He talks too much. _And_ he doesn't like touching bones."

Christine frowned.

"Is that what you two were doing in the forest? Temperance, I thought I told you before that I didn't like you playing with bones. It's disgusting and totally unhygienic."

It was Temperance's turn to frown.

"What does unhygic means?" She asked her mother, as curious as always when she heard a new word.

Christine chuckled at her daughter's attempt to repeat the word.

"Unhygienic means that it is not clean."

"Oh okay."

"It also means that I don't want you to play with bones anymore."

Temperance sighed.

"Fine."

* * *

_August 2nd 1980; the Brennan's backyard_

"Give it, it's mine!" Tempe said as she pulled the shovel out of her friend's hands.

"Well I was playing with it first." Seeley replied, defending himself.

"Nuh-huh."

"Huh-huh." Seeley replied, taking the small plastic shovel from the young girl's hands.

"Nuh-huh." Tempe replied, taking it back.

"Huh-huh."

Pulling it roughly from the young girl's hands, Seeley smiled triumphantly.

"Mommy! Seeley just said a bad word!" Tempe called out to her mom.

"No I didn't." Seeley replied, offended by the lie.

Christine stepped out of the house and walked slowly towards the kids, stifling a sigh as she listened to them argue.

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you..."

"Okay that's enough you two!" Christine interrupted them. "Stop bickering like an old married couple."

"Eeeww!" The two children said in harmony.

"That's gross Mom!" Tempe said.

"Like I'd want to be married to her." Seeley immediately added, a hint of disgust in his voice.

Christine tried her best not to giggle.

* * *

_August 13th 1980; the Brennan's living room_

"I'm here to pick up Seeley." Muriel said.

Christine nodded before inviting the woman in. Putting a finger to her lips, she led the older woman to the living room. Muriel smiled as her eyes fell on the two children, fast asleep on the couch, Temperance's head resting gently on Seeley's shoulder. As always, young Seeley's arm was wrapped protectively around his friend's shoulder.

"How sweet." Muriel whispered.

"I know." Christine agreed. "It seems like the only way these two get along is when they are asleep."

Muriel chuckled softly.

"They do bicker a lot."

"Like an old married couple." Christine added.

* * *

_August 18th 1980_

"Mom says we have to go back home in a couple of days." Seeley said as he threw a chunk of bread on the ground.

A pigeon immediately jumped on it.

"But I don't want you to go." Temperance whined as she threw her own chunk.

"I know. I said the same thing but Mom says we have to. School is going to start soon."

"Oh yeah." Temperance replied, suddenly remembering that she herself would be starting school soon. "Maybe you could come back here next summer."

"I doubt it. Aunt Muriel is moving to Washington in a couple of months."

The two friends sat down on the bench, setting the bag of bread between them. They sat silent for a few seconds before Seeley ventured to talk.

"Do you know what marriage is?" He asked, shyly.

"My parents are married." Tempe replied.

Seeley nodded.

"Do you think, one day, you and me could get married?"

Temperance shrugged.

"Maybe."

She turned to her friend and smile.

"Would it be like in fairy tales where the prince and the princess live happily ever after?"

"Sure."

Temperance's smile grew larger.

"Then I'd like that." She said, taking the young boy's hand in hers.

"So it's a promise? Forever love?"

Temperance nodded.

"Forever love."

* * *

**TBC**


	3. Our Promise

**A/N: Okay, so seperators don't work at the moment. Oh well. You'll still understand the story even if there isn't any seperations between the two "parts". Anyway. So thank you to everybody who has reviewed the last chapter! I haven't seen so many reviews since "What She Thought She Didn't Want". I was really happy to read them, they really made me smile and cheered me up after a rather long and hard day at work (I cleaned and scrubbed for three straight hours, which isn't part of my "usual" job description but I mean, the place was full of dust). Anywho, hope you like this chapter as well. It's the final one.**

Giggles erupted into the night as Temperance and Booth hurriedly left the restaurant by a back door. Leaning against the wall, Temperance tried to catch her breath after the not-so-much-planned escape had been successful. Booth stood, panting, in front of her.

"That... that was fun." Temperance said as she tried to calm herself down.

But one look at Booth sent her into a fit of giggles once again. Booth watched her, tenderly, and wondered when had been the last time his partner had let herself go like that. He smiled at her when she looked up again, hoping she hadn't caught him staring. Unfortunately, luck was against him.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" She asked, suddenly serious again.

Booth felt his face grow warmer. He thanked the darkness, just in case his face had also turned red in the process.

"I... I just thought it was nice to see you having fun, that's all." He replied.

A little white lie couldn't hurt. Well, it would probably hurt less than telling her he was a bit worried about her. He knew how she could be so indepedent and didn't like people fussing over her.

Hoping to change the subject, he added:

"Come on. Let's go for a walk."

He extended his hand and she took it willingly.

"Your mother, she's something." Temperance ventured to say once they had started walking and were out of Wong Foo's parking lot.

She heard Booth chuckle beside her.

"Yeah. She's something." He replied. "I remember when I was a kid, all my friends thought she was the coolest mom on the planet. I have to admit though, she was. She was always giving them candy, cookies and she was always inviting my friends over for little parties. She'd play them the latest jingles she'd composed over the last few weeks and she was terrific at entertaining a crowd. My birthday parties were never dull."

He sighed.

"What's the matter?" Temperance asked, picking up the sadness in his tone.

"She just spent more energy on my friends and my brother's friends than she did on us. I mean, she wasn't a bad mother or anything but she was sometimes very busy. When she was working on a jingle, she couldn't be disturbed. We could get grounded if we went knocking on her office door while she was composing. I guess that was the hard part."

"Has she always been this eccentric?"

Booth chuckled.

"Yeah. Sorry about her, by the way. I didn't think she would act that way around you. Mom's always wanted to know everything about my friends' lives. Or anybody's life for that matter. I don't think there's one person in this whole city who knows more about the latest Hollywood gossip."

Temperance looked up at him and smiled. He smiled back.

"It's weird, isn't it?"

Booth gave her a look that told her he didn't know what she was talking about.

"You know. How we met before and didn't remember?"

"Oh yeah. That. I still can't believe I forgot about it. We had a lot of fun that summer."

Temperance giggled.

"Yeah, we did. Remember when I found these bones in the forest?"

Booth rolled his eyes.

"I was going to ask you if you remembered when we made your brother eat worms but okay. Bones work for me too."

He winked at her which earned him a punch in the arm by her spare hand. He rubbed the sore spot.

"You sure still punch the same way." He said, as he rubbed his arm.

Pointing to a bench in the park they were passing by, he added:

"Let's sit down."

She nodded.

The bench was slightly cold as Booth and Temperance sat down and a soft breeze swept through the dark park. The sound of crickets reached their ears and the stars illuminated the sky above them. The full moon shined down on them, giving the park an eery look. Temperance shivered.

"Cold?" Booth asked. "Do you want my coat or something?"

"No. I'm okay."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Booth." Temperance replied, annoyed. "I'm sure."

"Okay then."

They sat in silence for a while, each other lost in their thoughts. Her fingers still linked with his, Booth slowly rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. He felt her shiver once again under his touch. This time, he knew it had nothing to do with the cold.

The touch of his thumb on her skin awakened emotions in her she hadn't known she had. She suddenly felt the urge to be closer to him, to be held by him, to feel his body close to hers. For once, she listened to her desires. Slowly, she leaned closer to him until her head rested on his shoulder.

How they had come to be this close he wasn't quite sure. He figured time had played a small role in their situation. But whatever the reason was, here they were, today, as close as they had ever been. He still couldn't believe that Temperance Brennan, the most stubborn and independent woman he knew, was snuggled up against him. He turned and gently kissed the top of her head. He heard her sigh softly.

Time passed slowly. How long they sat silently like that, they weren't quite sure. Five minutes? Maybe even ten? Temperance was the first one to speak up.

"Booth, remember our promise?"

She felt him stiffen for a split second before relaxing once again.

"Yeah. Why?"

"We promised each other forever love."

"I know."

She felt him nod. She took a deep breath before asking her second question.

"Have we kept that promise?"

She pulled herself from him and Booth immediately felt cold from the loss of contact. He turned to face her, the moon shinning down on her and making her look pale. He saw that she was scared; scared of his answer and probably scared by what she was feeling. He couldn't help but feel proud of her for facing her biggest fear.

He smiled tenderly at her.

"I know I have."

Her eyes grew wide in surprise and Booth chuckled.

"Bones..." He started, not quite sure what he was going to say next. "I have the... biggest crush on you. And I know that, with time, it could grow to be more. Now I can't promise you _forever_ love like I did back when I was six because if there's one thing I learned over the years is that we never know where life can take us. But I can guarantee one thing. It's definetely going to be love."

He stopped, out of breath, and waited for her to say something. Anything.

But as the seconds ticked away and she still didn't say anything, he felt his anxiety begin to rise. Had he said too much? Had he scared her off? Had he be completely wrong thinking that she felt the same way he did?

The questions ran through his mind at the speed of light and he was pretty sure that his partner could read them in his eyes. He tried to reason with himself, without luck. He began slightly to shake as his heart pounded in his chest. He was pretty sure she could hear it.

The crickets continued to sing in a nearby bush, irritating Booth. Every sound they made, made him believe the insects were laughing at him. How could he have been so stupid?

A full minute had passed and Temperance still hadn't said anything. Her eyes were now resting on his hands, avoiding the eye contact.

"Please say something, Bones. Anything. This silence is really starting to make me uncomfortable."

The sound of his voice made the woman look up. Booth could tell by the look in her eyes that she was confused and could detect a hint of fear in those blue orbs of hers.

"I..." Her voice was quiet, barely audible. "I don't know what to say."

"Just tell me whether or not you feel the same way about me. There isn't anything else to say."

"I just can't give you an answer when I'm not even sure myself how I feel about you."

She looked down again but this time Booth wasn't going to let her. Bringing two fingers to her chin, he gently pushed up. Their eyes locked once more.

"Let me help you with that."

He leaned in slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull back if she wanted. But when his lips touched hers, he knew that even if she wanted to pull away that he wouldn't let her. Sparks flew everywhere, there were no doubts about it. But what Booth hadn't expected was for Temperance to bring her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her.

When they pulled away, Booth rested his forehead against hers. He felt her pull back and he didn't try to stop her.

"So, how do you feel now? Still confused?" He asked, hoping she'd say no.

She shook her head. Booth smiled at her.

"But that doesn't change the fact that..."

"You're still scared, I know." Booth finished her sentence for her. "I know you better than you think I do. I know you're scared and I'm ready to deal with that."

"There's just such a big difference between knowing for sure and thinking that maybe it's true."

"I know."

"And Booth, I mean. We're friends, we work together. Things could get so complicated. I'm really _not_ good at relationships. What if we ruin everything?"

"It's a chance we gotta take."

"But what if I'm not ready to take that chance?"

Booth sighed.

"Then I'll wait for you until you're ready. I won't push you into anything you don't want."

"Why would you do that?"

"I just think you're worth the wait."

Temperance smiled at him, shyly.

"Come here." Booth said as he gathered her in his arms.

Temperance immediately snaked her arms around his neck once again and pulled him closer.

"Thank you." She whispered after a few seconds.

"You're welcome."

Closing his eyes, Booth enjoyed the moment. He knew it would be a while before he would be able to hold his partner in that way and he wanted to make the best of it. There would be a time when, maybe, he would be able to hug her and kiss her and show her just how much he cared about her. He just knew it wasn't going to be tonight. So he held on. He held on to the moment like there was no tomorrow.

Closing her eyes, Temperance enjoyed the moment despite the warning flight alert buzzing in her mind. She wanted to run and hide in a safe place, a place where Booth wouldn't be having the effect he was currently having on her, a place where she could lock herself up again, a place where she knew she would never get hurt. But she fought her desire to run to make place to the new one slowly coming to life in her: the desire to be held by him. She felt vulnerable, yes, but she knew Booth would never use that against her. He knew her. He knew her past, he knew her present and he even knew her thoughts. She smiled at that thought. He knew her and he still wanted to be with her. She hugged him tighter.

Their bubble suddenly bursted as a cry reached their ears.

"SEELEY!"

Temperance's eyes shot open but she remained still.

"Booth, is that... your mom?" She asked, squinting to make out the shadowy figure walking towards them.

Pulling back, Booth turned around in the newcomer's direction. He chuckled when he recognized the drunken figure of his mother.

"Yep. That's Mommy." He replied.

"Is she drunk?" Temperance asked as she watched Booth's mother coming towards them.

"I think so." Booth answered, getting up. "Mom?"

"Seeley, you left me all alone in that bar."

"Yeah, shouldn't have done that." Booth mumbled under his breath.

"What was that, son?"

Behind him, Temperance giggled.

"Nothing, Mom. Let's get you home. You're obviously too drunk to drive."

"I'm not drunk. I've only had... free drinks tonight."

Booth turned to Temperance who was looking at him questionningly.

"Free means three and four put together." He explained.

She nodded, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. He smiled tenderly at her, happy to see she was having fun. He motionned to her to follow them. Temperance got up.

"Hey Seeley, who's that woman? Is she your giiirlfriend?"

Booth sighed.

"No, Mom. That's Temperance. We work together, remember?"

The old woman shook her head.

"No. But do you know who she reminds me off? You know that little girl you met when we went to visit your Aunt Muriel in Chicago?"

"Yes. Temperance Brennan. I remember her." Booth replied, winking at his partner.

"No, no, no. That's not it. Remember, she had an older brother. His name was Ross."

Booth rolled his eyes.

"His name was Russ, Mother. And the little girl was Temperance Brennan."

"No that wasn't her _naaame_." The woman said. "That girl loved bones. She just loved her bones. Get it? Loved her bones!"

"Yeah, Mom. Whatever."

Then, reaching into his pocket, he took out his keys and handed them to his partner.

"There, take the SUV and go home. I'll swing by later tonight to pick it up."

Taking the keys, Temperance looked at him, surprised.

"You'll letting me drive? That's a change."

Booth shrugged.

"Yeah well. A lot of things changed tonight."

Temperance stopped in her path and watched as Booth continued to walk. She heard him wish her a good night before turning back to his mother who was rambling on how great the new woman in his life was. A smile tugged at Temperance's lips as a warm feeling washed over her. Booth had been right. A lot of things had changed tonight.

She closed her eyes and let herself feel the wind around her. It had been so long since she had simply enjoyed a moment and yet, she had done just that twice that night.

"Loved her bones." She heard Booth's mother say in the distance.

She chuckled softly and shook her head before resuming her walk.


End file.
